Pacifica Shark Attacks Kayaker: What to do if a Shark Attacks You?

Pacifica shark attacks are fortunately, not a common occurrence, but one kayaker off Pacifica State Beach in California was fishing when a jumped out of the water and attacked him and his kayak, San Francisco's KPIX notes.

Micah Flansburg was out fishing with his father-in-law on Tuesday afternoon some 200 yards (182 meters) from the shoreline. The Pacifica shark attack was an extremely close call as the great white managed to bite down on the kayak and hauled it out of the water.

"Right from below me, the whole kayak lifted up from below me, and the great white shark grabbed the whole front of the kayak and was shaking it violently. He hit me so hard from underneath. I was pretty much helpless, just hanging on for dear life," Flanaburg said.

Luckily, Flansburg and his companion, Ross Webber, were not harmed during the Pacifica shark attack. The great white only managed to grab a hold of the kayak.

"Probably the scariest part was when it let go, 'cause it swam back around and I thought he was going to come and take another bite, right where my legs were," Flanaburg added.

He added the whole ordeal felt like a clip out of the Discovery channel. "Shark's eyes were rolled up in the back of his head. I saw his gums and all his fangs bared. His whole head was halfway out of the water," Flansburg recalled.

In case of a shark attack, ReefQuest Centre for Shark Research advises to concentrate your blows against the shark's delicate eyes, gills or snout which are sensitive.

However, if the shark manages to get you in his mouth, playing dead is not the way to go. "I advise to be as aggressively defensive as you are able. Pound the shark in any way possible. Try to claw at the eyes and gill openings, two very sensitive areas," says George Burgess from the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

Click here for a step by step guide on how to survive a shark attack.